8 August 31 - september 6, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents “40 100° days so far. Today will mark 41 days of triple digit heat and 5th consecu- tive,” Delkus tweeted. “At this time last year, we were done with 100° days.” We’ve also witnessed other types of se- vere weather notices lately. Aside from ex- cessive heat, weather officials are issuing an air quality alerts and red flag warnings. Red flag warnings occur when conditions like high winds and low relative humidity converge to create possible critical and ex- treme fire weather. Delkus encouraged peo- ple via tweet to “[a]void sparks/open flames” as the fire danger soared. Earlier this month, six wildfires simulta- neously raged across the region, including blazes in Dallas, Johnson, Jack, Erath, Parker and Red River counties. Meanwhile, recent air quality alerts have indicated high levels of ozone in the region. Poor-quality air can be an issue for people with respiratory problems when they spend time outdoors. Dallas-Fort Worth recently ranked No. 18 on a list of metro areas with the worst ozone pollution levels. Believe it or not, summer 2023 is “kind of one of those run-of-the-mill” seasons, Sell- ers said. It’s just lasting a lot longer than most of us would like. “Until we either get some rain or even just a nice cold front to push temperatures down a little bit,” she added, “we’re kind of on this path for at least the foreseeable future.” ▼ POLICE COPS BEHAVING BADLY SIX RECENT TIMES LOCAL POLICE HAVE NOT BEEN GOOD. BY SIMONE CARTER D allas police and other North Texas- area law enforcement officers have been racking up some negative press coverage in recent weeks. Maybe this unfor- tunate trend is partly because of the heat, maybe it’s due to exhaustion — or maybe these are just a few of the “few bad apples” we keep hearing about. We aren’t suggesting that all cops should be placed in indefinite time-outs. But cer- tain officers — like the Dallas cop sus- pended in July for creating a “racist” commemorative coin — would probably do well to take a bit of a breather for self-re- flection and to think about how their be- havior is just a bad look for their departments. Here are six recent times that Dallas-area law enforcement was caught behaving badly. Dallas Police Laugh at Disabled Veteran Bodycam footage went viral two weeks ago showing Dallas police officers cackling like hyenas upon learning that a disabled veteran was made to soil himself. The local veteran, Dynell Lane, told the city’s police oversight board earlier this month that employees at Serious Pizza re- fused to let him use the restroom in June. Two off-duty cops in uniform, who were working security there, wouldn’t look at his medical paperwork either, according to The Dallas Morning News. Lane reportedly called 911 but left the restaurant because of his urinary and bowel issues before two on-duty cops arrived. “So you guys made a guy pee himself?” one of the officers gleefully asks in the bo- dycam video. “He called 911 on us?” an- other says before doubling over with laughter. Lane said his lower extremities were op- erated on because of wounds sustained dur- ing his deployment. “My life has changed, drastically changed, and has been a constant fight having to explain myself about my disabil- ity just to get assistance,” Lane told the oversight office, according to The News. “This battle leaves me in a constant de- pression and suicidal at times because of the shame of asking strangers for help while in public.” Southlake Cops Fired for Swastika Drawing In late July, Southlake Police Department’s chief announced the firing of two officers who, during a break in a meeting, had drawn a swastika. They also shared the picture with others. The chief’s decision was commended by the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum and the regional director of the American Jewish Committee Dallas, ac- cording to the Texas Jewish Post. Frisco Police Terrorize Black Arkansas Family In a case of mistaken vehicular identity, Frisco police pulled over a Black family from Arkansas, FOX 4 reported earlier this month. The Heard family was headed to a basketball tournament, and cops held them at gunpoint on the Dallas North Tollway. “If you reach in that car, you may get shot,” one officer reportedly told them. Police wrongly believed that the Heards’ car was stolen, according to that outlet. Rather than looking up a license plate using “AR” for Arkansas, an officer had submitted “AZ” for Arizona. The family’s 13-year-old son was also placed in handcuffs before police realized their error. Dallas Couple Falsely Accused of Murder Sues Detective A Dallas couple is suing a detective whose investigation wrongfully put them behind bars over Christmas on a murder charge. WFAA reported earlier this month that Basilio Tovar and Rubi Esparza have filed suit in a federal court in Dallas. The couple says that “misleading” infor- mation led to their incarceration over the killing of a 29-year-old man whom Tovar’s sister was dating. Police later admitted that the couple had not committed the homicide, writing in a statement, “Detectives … had probable cause the suspects were involved in the murder.” Tovar and Esparza are seeking punitive damages and allege that their constitutional rights were violated. Dallas County Sheriff Department Lieutenant Arrested for DWI A top employee with the Dallas County Sheriff Department was put on leave after Big D police arrested him for drunk driving, according to The Dallas Morning News. The lieutenant reportedly hit a concrete barrier with his truck at an LBJ Freeway intersec- tion, and responding officers noted that he reeked of alcohol. Man Accuses Duncanville Police of Causing ‘Severe Spinal Injuries’ A 21-year-old man from Duncanville is calling for the release of bodycam footage after police there allegedly severely injured his spine, according to NBC-DFW. Keandre Green was discharged from the hospital last week. Green told reporters that he’d been jog- ging when he stopped in an alley to urinate. A woman then called police. According to that article, Green said, “The only thing I do remember is my face being planted in the ground with my back in excruciating pain.” ▼ CITY HALL PERMITTED POLLUTION JOPPA TRIES TO FIGHT OFF A CONCRETE BATCH PLANT. BY JACOB VAUGHN A nearly three-hour meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown on Aug. 17 was filled with uproar, in- terruptions and plenty of questions. Joppa residents wanted answers regarding a batch concrete plant operating near their community. Last year, the city discovered that the plant, at 4500 Great Trinity Forest Way, was operating without the needed permit, prompting the operator to apply for the per- mit with the Texas Commission on Environ- mental Quality (TCEQ). The recent meeting was supposed to help determine whether to grant the permit to Texas Star Ready Mix. One of the major questions at the meeting was: If the plant didn’t have the proper per- mit to operate, why was it still operating just outside of the Dallas freedman’s town? No one seemed to have a good answer. The company did not respond to the Ob- server’s requests for comment, but a com- pany representative said at the Aug. 17 meeting that Texas Star Ready Mix was working to get in compliance. During the meeting, the company rep- resentative explained that the plant has been used to develop materials for foun- dations and sidewalks in the area. creengrab/Dallas Community Police Oversight Board Bodycam footage shows Dallas police officers laughing about a disabled veteran who soiled himself after he was denied use of the restroom at Serious Pizza. Unfair Park from p6 >> p10
